Sporting Goods Category Manager Fort Worth, TX

Sporting Goods Category Manager job at Mid-States Distributing Co. Fort Worth, TX.

Who We Are:

Mid-States Distributing ("Mid-States") is the leading Farm, Ranch, and Home Retail Cooperative. Our company is owned by 34 independent Farm, Ranch & Home retailers (“Members”) who operate over 800 stores in 34 states and 9 Canadian provinces with combined annual sales of over 7.5 billion dollars. Our member-owners retail items such as agriculture parts & supplies, petroleum products, hardware & tools, pet food, lawn & garden, animal health supplies, apparel & footwear, sporting goods, and various other products for the Farm, Ranch, and Home.

We are looking for competitive people who like to win big and have fun doing it. We place a tremendous amount of emphasis on creating a unique and positive company culture. Most of our employees will tell you this is the best place they’ve ever worked. We value high-energy people who like to work hard and play hard. Our consumers are primarily rural people raising “kids, cows, and quarter horses,” so traditional values like God, family, and patriotism are important virtues around here.

So, if you are enthusiastic and competitive, have a great attitude, have good communication skills, are good at building relationships, love to win, and you like ice cream – Mid-States is the place for you! If you are not, please apply with our competitors!

The Position The Sporting Goods Category Manager with a focus on Hunt/ Camp/ Fish/ Marine develops and manages supplier relationships, events, and merchandising programs on behalf of the Mid-States Membership. This involves collaboration with the Business Unit (division), committees, stockholders, member buyers, and executive management to leverage the combined purchasing power of the cooperative. At its core, the position serves as an ambassador for the category.

What You Will Do:

• Facilitate and support direct business with our centralized sourcing, purchasing, and distribution
• Facilitate and support indirect business needs relevant to the category and our Member’s core business needs
• Develop and manage supplier relationships in assigned category (Sporting Goods)
• Research, select, and certify supplier merchandise programs
• Forecast and budget in responsible areas with cross-functional teams
• Manage master data for assigned categories while working to enhance programs
• Coordinate supplier involvement and participate in the design, management, and execution processes of the semi-annual trade shows
• Negotiate, drive/guide “direct” programs from inception to implementation
• Ensure assigned annual revenue plan is achieved through tradeshow structured resources
• Manage supplier assortments & recommend leveraged buys
• Communicate all aspects of supplier programs to the membership via website, mailing, e-mail, trade shows, and meetings
• Manage and analyze each assigned supplier’s programs for value and accuracy
• Identify and drive new business opportunities by analyzing market trends and facilitation of coordinated line reviews
• Resolve conflicts between suppliers and members in a “win-win” scenario
• Coordinate and manage supplier “Top to Top” meetings, member committee meetings, and associated category line reviews
• Present, influence, and promote our Learning Management Solution to suppliers to foster commitment and participation
• Support the execution of the Private Brand Strategy
• Other duties as assigned

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, COMPETENCIES, AND

EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in business, retailing, management, sales, marketing OR equivalent work experience
• Minimum seven (7) years of retail buying, sourcing, or category management experience. Including negotiation, contracting, and supplier performance management in a…